Last week a majority of MLA’s at Stormont voted in favour of a motion which called on DAERA minister Edwin Poots to introduce a Climate Change Act within three months.

While the vote is non-binding, and the minister did argue against introducing legislation at this stage, it does increase the pressure on him to take action.

In NI, farming is responsible for around 27% of greenhouse gas emissions

The concern for the farming industry is that legislation which sets targets to reduce emissions could have a significant impact on our ability to maintain output from our farms. In NI, farming is responsible for around 27% of greenhouse gas emissions, a figure which is much higher than other regions (across the UK and EU, agriculture accounts for 10% of emissions). That reflects the fact that NI has a relatively small manufacturing base, and agri food is much more important to our economy than elsewhere. So when politicians in NI call for legally binding local targets, farmers get nervous.

But the other point to make is that we do not know if this 27% figure properly reflects what is actually happening in the countryside. Hedgerows, trees and grassland sequesters carbon, and our knowledge base on this is continually growing.

This isn’t about denying that climate change is happening

We are also gradually gaining a better understanding of methane, released by cattle during rumination, and a major contributor to agricultural emissions (65% of the agri total). But it breaks down in the atmosphere after a decade, so if cattle numbers remain constant, the net contribution from methane is potentially zero.

This isn’t about denying that climate change is happening, or denying that farming has a significant role to play in cutting emissions, but it would be wrong to force targets on to agriculture until we properly understand the science and facts.

Unfortunately, many of our politicians seem to be oblivious to the arguments and not interested in any of the detail. Extolling your green credentials might win votes, but if we end up more reliant on food imports, then that is truly a perverse outcome.

Read more

Poots to request changes to greenhouse gas calculations

Dairy emissions not affected by breed